Chapter Two

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Pov - Lee

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"So...a "Skull?" these are males, yes?"

The voice in my head whispers.

"Yes," I answer softly. The pain that's been slamming against my head is finally nearly gone. All that remains is a dull buzzing that's already fading.

"They're very good with magic, and considering the craziness going on, I thought it'd fit."

The voice hums and then waits for my other decision. Seriously? Can't even make up its own name? Whatever. Maybe it'll stop asking questions if I give it one?

Hah... yeah, right. If it was that easy, I wouldn't be dealing with this crap. Still, it's worth a shot. A few ideas tumble around in my head. With each passing second, I can feel the voice's excitement growing. Since I definitely don't want my headache to return, I quickly pick something and type it in.

"Fimbulvinter"

The voice tests. It goes silent for a moment.

"I've never really been given a name before. It's an odd feeling."

What?

"Didn't you say you had a name?" I say with a sigh. Why the hell are you asking questions now?

"No. That is simply what I refer to myself as. 'Names' were an alien idea that I only learned from you recently."

...

"On that note, does my name have any significant meaning?"

I grunt and shake my head in annoyance.

"I guess... but I mostly picked it cause it sounded interesting." Alien space gods, or whatever the voice is claiming to be need to have names like that, right? Can't exactly call them Bob or-

I nearly bite my tongue. What the heck am I doing? I'm talking to the voice in my head like it's perfectly normal!

"I see. Whatever the case, I appreciate the effort. It's a fine name."

Yet another sigh slips from my lip. Whatever.

"I'm just going to play now..."

Wo was that really meant for, I wonder? Me or it?

"Very well. Please allow me to direct the movements and actions of Fimbulvinter, that is to say, my character."

...

I nod and finally head for the dimensional gate. I'm going to have fun, voice or not!

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Whether through luck or the grace of God, the voice remains mostly quiet during the gaming session. Rather than ask me endless questions, it listens to the characters. The voice drinks in their dialogue, softly pressing up against my skull with bated breath, or so the saying goes. When the cutscenes end, it watches as I play and move the characters. When his turn finally comes up, he easily directs me to do the actions he wants. Suffice to say, "Fimbulvinter" moves next to one of my more powerful characters and performs a team attack with them. Being a fresh recruit, he does a grand total of maybe five points of damage to the much stronger monster.

But that's fine. He doesn't need to do damage.

My character does enough damage to kill the monster with the team attack, and as it vanishes, I hear the familiar sound of a character levelling up.

The voice finally speaks up.

"I'm not sure why, but that little tune is very pleasing. I wish to listen to it again."

It seems even "primordial gods" are not safe from the addictive rush that comes from levelling up your favourite characters in a game. The amusement that I get from it is both worrying and soothing.

The rest of my gaming sessions goes much the same. It's not the best experience, but by the end, I'm rested and ready for the rest of the day.

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Time slips past like sand in a storm. By the time I finish my gaming session, it's already a few hours past noon. My stomach calls me up, and to my surprise, the voice is silent; there's not even a peep!

A smile works its way across my lips as I head for the kitchen. First thing's first! I need to make a quick sandwich or two. After that, maybe go out and stretch my legs?

And probably not go to bed so late.

Thankfully, the rest of the day is uneventful. The voice really doesn't come back, even as the sun begins to dip under my bedroom window. A small part of me laments its disappearance; everyone wants to be special in some way. Being chosen by a literal god would make me really damn special. Of course, things like that never happen in real life. Realistically, the best outcome would have been stress or exhaustion induced hallucinations. The words would be from some kind of tumour or schizophrenia or something like that.

Frankly, the fact that the voiced stopped lifts a great deal of weight from my shoulders. Maybe that trip to the doctor can be put off for a little bit longer? If I'm getting better, then there's no need to waste time, get tested, and all that crap, right?

It's with those thoughts that I slide into bed and cover myself.

Tomorrow was a new day and it would be less stressful than today.

I hope.

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If there's a lesson to be learned, it's not to sit back and hope for change. I wished for it, yet here I was, falling back into the same routine as always.

I should have booked that damned doctor's appointment yesterday...

"Good morning!" The voice or "Fimbulvinter" returns as I'm brushing my teeth. "That is the correct greeting, right? I didn't get it mixed up with gazuntite, yes?"

Thin bristles dig into my teeth, poke my tongue, and brush up against my gums. A low, frustrated groan slips through my teeth as they gnaw against the toothbrush.

It would have been to good to be true...

"Apologies for my disappearance."

I open my mouth and get back to brushing. It worked yesterday, so maybe all I have to do is play more games?

"I was simply resting to gather some of my floating essence that I ended up expunging all over your small marble."

Fried eggs sound like a delicious breakfast.

"Curiously, it seems my self-erasure and subsequent attempts to pull myself back together had some unintended consequences," Fimbulvinter continues. "It looks like large chunks slipped through the cracks in space-time and were thus scattered throughout your home's history! Hopefully, that didn't change your world too much."

The eggs will taste great with some hot sauce. Heh. How did it go? "I put that shit on everything?"

"Thankfully, my attempts weren't wholly fruitless. I managed to pull free a large clump from the atmosphere and consume it. I've also been tinkering with your optical nerves a bit."

Now that gets my attention.

"What the hell did you do to my eyes?!" I shout. My heart slams into my chest and I nearly chock on the damned toothbrush.

"There's nothing to fear!"He says cheerfully. "All I've done is given myself a small amount of control so I can do this."

A small stinging sensation assaults my eyes for a second. A moment later, it vanishes as I wipe the tears from them.

"Over here!"

The voice shouts.

Over where? What the hell is it saying!?

"Oh, right, I still need to try and incorporate your auditory perception. Please look in front of you."

I blink and look up. There, sitting on my goddamned sink is a small, fist-sized "skull." It's a perfect replica of Fimbulvinter's character.

Try as I might, my hand simply slips through his body.

"I've yet to work on touch, so please be patient," Fimbulvinter says excitedly. "Since you gave me the inspiration to try this, Is there anything you'd like me to focus on next?"

No small amount of anger swells within me. It fills to the brim, and just as it's about to burst, it evaporates. Why the hell am I getting mad at a voice of all things? Yelling at it won't do any good.

Defeated, I answer its questions in a desperate hope that it'll shut up. But what about the next step? Maybe I should call a doctor right now?

-----------------------------

Fimbulvinter teeters on the edge of the bathroom sink. He looks at me with curiosity in his gaze.

It was so much better when hallucinations weren't part of this mess.

A chill races down my spine. Things have gone far past something that can be ignored. Hallucination or not, leaving this alone won't help me.

I take a calming breath and look at Fimbulvinter... that's a mouthful. Fimbul will do for now. Either way, maybe Fimbul isn't just a delusion; maybe he's real?

...

Well, real enough that it could make me insane. Honestly, I'm not sure what's worse. Either way, it can't be good for me.

My heart thumps faster and faster, threatening to burst out from my chest. What... what the hell do I do?!

"You're excited, right?" Fimbul hums as he hops off the sink and floats on over. "I have to admit, I'm borrowing a lot of it from you, but these new emotions I'm feeling have me ecstatic to explore your home!"

God... they'll lock me up. No. Focus. I haven't worked my ass off just to wind up in some asylum. I need to focus and stay calm.

A strong force pushes up against my stomach. I can already feel something rising and getting ready to burst.

Focus.

"So, again, what do you want me to put my efforts into next?" Oblivious to my worries, Fimbul pokes at my cheek. His hand goes straight through.

"F-Feeling?" I stutter out as a burp rolls out of my throat. "W-What is this energy you were talking about?"

Anything will do. As long as it distracts me, I'll happily listen to him this once!

"Oh! A great choice!" Fimbul exclaims. "Though, it's less energy and more the remains of my body or corpse as your memory calls it." He pauses. "It's an odd term, what does it mean?"

A lung full of air rushes down my throat. Slowly, but surely, I start to regain control.

"A-A dead body." Words come easier now. "So, you basically s-scattered your ashes all over the planet?"

Fimbul's floating avatar narrows its yes. He looks at me and a small pinch nicks my mind.

"Yes, that's a good explanation," he answers with a small smile. "Using words would take to long, so here, let me just push the knowledge into your mind."

I back away, arms swinging at the hallucination.

"No!" The door blocks my path and I nearly smash my skull into the floor as I slip trying to open it. "I don't want to know if it's the same thing as your name!"

Just thinking about it sends a wave of pain through my body. It was like a hundred ice cream headaches compressed into one.

"Oh, you don't have to worry," Fumble says and shakes his head. "I've learned from my mistake. Watch."

He's at your side in an instant. When the hell did he move?! His palm presses up against my skull, and then a moment later, the world is washed away in lustrous light. The end and the beginning become one. They loop and pass through me. I see the birth of the universe... and it's ending. Trillions of stars shine as pyres in the emptiness of space. Yet, like all things, they dwindle and flicker. Naught but darkness remains.

Billions, trillions, an immeasurable number of years of information on the universe glide past my mind. This is where my brain is supposed to explode or melt from the strain, yet, nothing happens. As quickly as the information comes, it is forgotten.

My eyes finally open. Eldritch knowledge twists and churns within my mind. Lies. It can't be true. The dying whispers of billions of starts still linger, but those fade as more important knowledge rises to the surface.

How... that's-

"W-What?" I stare at my hands. A strange, golden glow radiates off them like billowing steam. No matter how much I shake my hands or try to wash it away, nothing changes.

"What you're seeing is, as you said, my ashes."

"Why are your ashes all over my body!?" I snap back, fear sinking its claws into me.

Fimbul blinks and furrows his brow.

"You wished to know more about my "energy" so I granted you a portion of my reserves so you could better see it!"

...

What. The. Hell?!

"I-Is it going to make me sick or something?!"

He shakes his head.

"On the contrary, it should allow you to bend reality similar to how I do so," Fimbul exclaims. "From what I've gathered, your kind had no such innate abilities, so this is a great boon for you, Lee!"

....

Like hell I'm just going to take him at his word! He's been screwing with my head since he got here. For all I know having this weird energy can give people cancer or something!

"I assure you that you'll discover no undesired side effects from simply having a fragment of my essence within you," Fimbul pauses and stares at you with a dull expression. "At most, you'll find yourself becoming tired by using my fragment to bend reality."

Calming breaths. Stay calm.

"If you wish for proof, simply raise your hand and focus on an object."

Panicking won't solve anything. It's likely to make things worse.

Stay calm.

I open my eyes and focus on my toothbrush. It had fallen at some point and now its moist bristles clung to the bathroom floor. Yuck. Who the hell's going to use it now?

"That's right. Put the entirety of your attention on that tiny orifice cleaner."

...

"Reach out with my essence. Imagine it as another appendage."

I don't want to do this... but if I don't, then I'll have to live in fear, not knowing what the hell this thing is. It calls it part of himself? Well, why the hell would I want more of it inside me?

I have to know whether it's lying or not.

The golden steam covering my body slowly flows down my hand. Its unnatural movements remind me of particularly bad CG from old movies. A shiver rushes up my spine as the golden ether finally reaches the toothbrush. I coil my fingers, trying to do anything at all, yet it just hovers there- unmoving.

"Your mind is weak, set in its ways, but it is malleable" Fimbul murmurs. "Forget the preconceptions that bind you to 'logic' and 'common sense.' Let go and do what comes naturally," he says and gently taps me on the forehead. Of course, his finger simply slips through.

"Listen to your essence. Listen to my essence. It will show you the way."

What the heck is that even supposed to mean? Everything that comes out of his mouth is a confusing mess that does nothing to help me! If anything, it makes it worse!

The frustration, fear and stress that have been pushing me since yesterday rushes up in full force. Finally, I just let go.

"Fuck you! Fuck this!"

Venom springs forth from my lips.

"Powers? Fucking aliens?! No! None of that shit is real!"

No more. This is the most I can handle.

"This is all just a fucked up delusion! I don't know what the hell set it off, but I finally broke!" My eyes begin to burn as tears roll down them. "T-this is the real world! S-Shit like this doesn't happen..."

With a whimper, I turn back to the toothbrush.

"I-I'll show you." Snot begins to roll down my nose as I cough.

Pathetic.

This time, the golden energy moves as if it were my hand. I easily grasp the toothbrush, and with no stupid voice to distract me, I pull it back.

There's a small pop and in the blink of an eye, the dirty brush is in my hand.

I never touched it.

Fimbul's voice answers the unspoken question.

"It seems heightened emotional outbursts might make this easier," he says calmly. "Nevertheless, it looks like your attempts were a success!"

"W-What?" The words come out weak and choked. "H-How?"

"You-"

I don't wait for an answer. I try it again, this time reaching for some toothpaste. Just like before, the golden energy wraps around and teleports the toothpaste into my hand. Unprepared, I squeeze it and stain my clothes, dropping it in the process. My heart's about ready to explode from the realization.

This is real.. right? Unless I've gone completely insane...

Proof. I need more proof.

It takes a few minutes, but I grab my phone and record another one of my experiments. Unless I'm that far gone, the recording doesn't lie.

Either way, my life won't be the same again.

What the hell do I do now?